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Sunday 15 July 2012: Les Bossons (Chamonix-Mont Blanc) - Les Praz - La Flégère - Réserve Naturelle des Aiguilles Rouges (Aiguilles Rouges Nature Reserve) - Col des Montets - Les Frasserands
Day 2 of our Tour du Mont Blanc, on Exodus' Mont Blanc Circuit trip - a clockwise circumambulation of the Mont Blanc massif
We woke to rain, and after a damp breakfast and our first tussle with Kili (we had to pack up our "2 Seconds + III" each morning - it's not easy wrangling a c160cm diameter dome tent back into its 81cm diameter flat pack carrying case) we loaded our main packs into the van, said au revoir to Ben and headed off with Simon to catch the bus from Les Bossons school to the nearby village of Les Praz.
The Téléphérique de la Flégère took us up from the Chamonix-Mont Blanc valley floor up to La Flégère at 1,894 m, where we swopped rain for cloud and a good few °C. Togged up in windproofs and waterproofs, we headed off along the footpath following the signs for Col des Montets - Simon had told us that the poor weather conditions meant that we would not be able do the planned high level route via Lac Blanc with its vertical ladders...
Still, the cloud and raindrops made for lovely flower photos in the Aiguilles Rouges National Nature Reserve, and Waiora and I got some glimpses of glaciers on the far side of the valley ahead and behind, waterfalls and the bright green lichen on the rich red iron rich gneiss rocks that give the Aiguilles Rouges mountains their name - the Red Needles. There's something quite magical about walking through the quietude of cloud.
As the day wore on, the skies cleared and we got better views of mountains above us and across the valley, including the Glacier du Tour. Waiora and I even had our own close encounter with a pair of Ibex, grazing in between the Alpine Rose (Rhododendrons) that cover the mountainsides in this part of the world. Shortly after, having enjoyed an easy day's walking along undulating path (the cable car having done the hard work of the ascent for us) we started the steep, zig zagging descent back down to the road, where we rendezvoused with Simon at the information centre at Col des Montets (1461m).
A short stroll later we were walking through the bucolic alpine village of Les Frasserands, where we found the rest of the group soaking up the sun at the campsite. After a rather late lunch, Hazel and I wandered into the town with Vicki and Rachel and treated ourselves to a jug of Jupiler beer served by a waitress from Wolverhampton at a bar in the village centre. A bit too cool to loiter for long once the sun went in/down.
Dinner was a feast served up in the dining room at Camping Les Frasserands - complete with a magnificent cheeseboard....
DSC04952
Acton (a little like my home town of Croydon) isnât really associated with good food and drink, and on these grounds is often ignored by foodies. Whether that is true or not (and Iâd contest making that kind of judgement about ANY area!), there is at least one interesting thing for the gastronomically inclined to be found in Acton (well, two - if you count an Ancient Roman themed Italian takeaway called Hadrian'sâ¦)
As you have probably guessed, that âthing' is Vindinista, and having been there for one too many glasses of wine with my good friend and fellow wine writer Tim, I would like to tell you about it.
Vindinista is essentially a wine bar. And a tiny one at that (âtiny bar, huge attitude). I donât know how many they sit, but it canât be more than 30. Nothing too unusual there, right? Itâs what they serve thatâs interesting. The motto at Vindinista is âwine liberationâ. They have a pretty eclectic selection of vino (lesser known producers, styles, regions & grapes) and they focus (in their own words) on âwines off the beaten pathâ. The list changes very regularly, and many of these lesser known wines are available by the glass too (joy!). Vindinista is owned by Paola Tich - a wine blogger of some note. We didnât get to meet her, instead spending time with a slightly Rockabilly Kiwi guy called Stacey.
Theyâre open Tuesday-Sunday, 5pm-late, and are walk in only. Theyâre also very popular with the locals - we saw plenty of clearly familiar faces come and go in the time we where there. They clearly have their regulars â there were small groups of friends gathering together, couples on boozy excursions and a French waiter from fancy French bar who was very keen to play us some French pop music.
How about the food? Itâs bar food, on a par with the kind of stuff youâd get in a good gastropub (Modern British, mainly?). We had possibly the best cheese toastie ever conceived by man (black truffle + some indescribable voodoo), but look out for pork and duck charcuterie boards, potted shrimps from Upton Smokery and more cheeseboards. Basically these guys really love cheese. They apparently run the odd supper club as well, though I canât tell you too much about that.
Vindinista opened in February 2015, and is an offshoot of the Park+Bridge wine store (âyour neighbourhood wine shopâ - even when your neighbourhood is 20 miles away...) just across the road. And the great news about THIS is that if you find a wine that you really enjoy at Vindinista, all you need to do is wander across the road and pick up a bottle...
Sunday 15 July 2012: Les Bossons (Chamonix-Mont Blanc) - Les Praz - La Flégère - Réserve Naturelle des Aiguilles Rouges (Aiguilles Rouges Nature Reserve) - Col des Montets - Les Frasserands
Day 2 of our Tour du Mont Blanc, on Exodus' Mont Blanc Circuit trip - a clockwise circumambulation of the Mont Blanc massif
We woke to rain, and after a damp breakfast and our first tussle with Kili (we had to pack up our "2 Seconds + III" each morning - it's not easy wrangling a c160cm diameter dome tent back into its 81cm diameter flat pack carrying case) we loaded our main packs into the van, said au revoir to Ben and headed off with Simon to catch the bus from Les Bossons school to the nearby village of Les Praz.
The Téléphérique de la Flégère took us up from the Chamonix-Mont Blanc valley floor up to La Flégère at 1,894 m, where we swopped rain for cloud and a good few °C. Togged up in windproofs and waterproofs, we headed off along the footpath following the signs for Col des Montets- Simon had told us that the poor weather conditions meant that we would not be able do the planned high level route via Lac Blanc with its vertical ladders...
Still, the cloud and raindrops made for lovely flower photos in the Aiguilles Rouges National Nature Reserve, and Waiora and I got some glimpses of glaciers on the far side of the valley ahead and behind, waterfalls and the bright green lichen on the rich red iron rich gneiss rocks that give the Aiguilles Rouges mountains their name - the Red Needles. There's something quite magical about walking through the quietude of cloud.
As the day wore on, the skies cleared and we got better views of mountains above us and across the valley, including the Glacier du Tour. Waiora and I even had our own close encounter with a pair of Ibex, grazing in between the Alpine Rose (Rhododendrons) that cover the mountainsides in this part of the world. Shortly after, having enjoyed an easy day's walking along undulating path (the cable car having done the hard work of the ascent for us) we started the steep, zig zagging descent back down to the road, where we rendezvoused with Simon at the information centre at Col des Montets (1461m).
A short stroll later we were walking through the bucolic alpine village of Les Frasserands, where we found the rest of the group soaking up the sun at the campsite. After a rather late lunch, Hazel and I wandered into the town with Vicki and Rachel and treated ourselves to a jug of Jupiler beer served by a waitress from Wolverhampton at a bar in the village centre. A bit too cool to loiter for long once the sun went in/down.
Dinner was a feast served up in the dining room at Camping Les Frasserands - complete with a magnificent cheeseboard....
DSC04858
BEAUTIFUL BAMBOO CUTTING BOARDS designed to be easy on your kitchen knives, EASY TO CLEAN FOOD PREPARATION BOARDS natural bamboo chopping boards are the perfect kitchen accessory, SCRATCH RESISTANT moisture and scratch resistant, natural bamboo provides outstanding durability, STYLISH DESIGN made to look good in your kitchen, with outstanding durability, LIFETIME WARRANTY all our Bamboo Cutting Boards are backed by the Ergo Kitchen Accessories Lifetime Warranty.
A useful and FUN cutting board. Modern look. Good for the hostess who likes to laugh and little folk's kitchen. Everyone needs to have more FUN.
Sturdy and lovely locally harvested maple and finished with a food-grade, hand rubbed finish. Handy leather strap for hanging. Mouse not included.
Measures approximately 7 inch x 5 1/2 inches.
Sunday 15 July 2012: Les Bossons (Chamonix-Mont Blanc) - Les Praz - La Flégère - Réserve Naturelle des Aiguilles Rouges (Aiguilles Rouges Nature Reserve) - Col des Montets - Les Frasserands
Day 2 of our Tour du Mont Blanc, on Exodus' Mont Blanc Circuit trip - a clockwise circumambulation of the Mont Blanc massif
We woke to rain, and after a damp breakfast and our first tussle with Kili (we had to pack up our "2 Seconds + III" each morning - it's not easy wrangling a c160cm diameter dome tent back into its 81cm diameter flat pack carrying case) we loaded our main packs into the van, said au revoir to Ben and headed off with Simon to catch the bus from Les Bossons school to the nearby village of Les Praz.
The Téléphérique de la Flégère took us up from the Chamonix-Mont Blanc valley floor up to La Flégère at 1,894 m, where we swopped rain for cloud and a good few °C. Togged up in windproofs and waterproofs, we headed off along the footpath following the signs for Col des Montets - Simon had told us that the poor weather conditions meant that we would not be able do the planned high level route via Lac Blanc with its vertical ladders...
Still, the cloud and raindrops made for lovely flower photos in the Aiguilles Rouges National Nature Reserve, and Waiora and I got some glimpses of glaciers on the far side of the valley ahead and behind, waterfalls and the bright green lichen on the rich red iron rich gneiss rocks that give the Aiguilles Rouges mountains their name - the Red Needles. There's something quite magical about walking through the quietude of cloud.
As the day wore on, the skies cleared and we got better views of mountains above us and across the valley, including the Glacier du Tour. Waiora and I even had our own close encounter with a pair of Ibex, grazing in between the Alpine Rose (Rhododendrons) that cover the mountainsides in this part of the world. Shortly after, having enjoyed an easy day's walking along undulating path (the cable car having done the hard work of the ascent for us) we started the steep, zig zagging descent back down to the road, where we rendezvoused with Simon at the information centre at Col des Montets (1461m).
A short stroll later we were walking through the bucolic alpine village of Les Frasserands, where we found the rest of the group soaking up the sun at the campsite. After a rather late lunch, Hazel and I wandered into the town with Vicki and Rachel and treated ourselves to a jug of Jupiler beer served by a waitress from Wolverhampton at a bar in the village centre. A bit too cool to loiter for long once the sun went in/down.
Dinner was a feast served up in the dining room at Camping Les Frasserands - complete with a magnificent cheeseboard....
DSC04810
i got your epic load right here pal. it's a cheeseboard and a changing table. car-free camping on angel island in the SF bay, 2004. stokemonkey prototype on wife's bike.
fine memories.
Sunday 15 July 2012: Les Bossons (Chamonix-Mont Blanc) - Les Praz - La Flégère - Réserve Naturelle des Aiguilles Rouges (Aiguilles Rouges Nature Reserve) - Col des Montets - Les Frasserands
Day 2 of our Tour du Mont Blanc, on Exodus' Mont Blanc Circuit trip - a clockwise circumambulation of the Mont Blanc massif
We woke to rain, and after a damp breakfast and our first tussle with Kili (we had to pack up our "2 Seconds + III" each morning - it's not easy wrangling a c160cm diameter dome tent back into its 81cm diameter flat pack carrying case) we loaded our main packs into the van, said au revoir to Ben and headed off with Simon to catch the bus from Les Bossons school to the nearby village of Les Praz.
The Téléphérique de la Flégère took us up from the Chamonix-Mont Blanc valley floor up to La Flégère at 1,894 m, where we swopped rain for cloud and a good few °C. Togged up in windproofs and waterproofs, we headed off along the footpath following the signs for Col des Montets - Simon had told us that the poor weather conditions meant that we would not be able do the planned high level route via Lac Blanc with its vertical ladders...
Still, the cloud and raindrops made for lovely flower photos in the Aiguilles Rouges National Nature Reserve, and Waiora and I got some glimpses of glaciers on the far side of the valley ahead and behind, waterfalls and the bright green lichen on the rich red iron rich gneiss rocks that give the Aiguilles Rouges mountains their name - the Red Needles. There's something quite magical about walking through the quietude of cloud.
As the day wore on, the skies cleared and we got better views of mountains above us and across the valley, including the Glacier du Tour. Waiora and I even had our own close encounter with a pair of Ibex, grazing in between the Alpine Rose (Rhododendrons) that cover the mountainsides in this part of the world. Shortly after, having enjoyed an easy day's walking along undulating path (the cable car having done the hard work of the ascent for us) we started the steep, zig zagging descent back down to the road, where we rendezvoused with Simon at the information centre at Col des Montets (1461m).
A short stroll later we were walking through the bucolic alpine village of Les Frasserands, where we found the rest of the group soaking up the sun at the campsite. After a rather late lunch, Hazel and I wandered into the town with Vicki and Rachel and treated ourselves to a jug of Jupiler beer served by a waitress from Wolverhampton at a bar in the village centre. A bit too cool to loiter for long once the sun went in/down.
Dinner was a feast served up in the dining room at Camping Les Frasserands - complete with a magnificent cheeseboard....
DSC04929
We woke at quarter to six in Swindon.
Outside it was warm and cloudy. But with the promise of sunshine later.
We had a shower, dressed and was down fr breakfast for half six, with all bar the cooked food ready.
So, we filled our boots with fruit and coffee before the fry up was brought. Aroud us, young red-eyed familes ate in a daze, and men in work clothes got ready for their last working day of the week.
We had a 90 minute drive, so we turned out of the car park at seven, across the huge roundabout ond onto the M4 heading due west for Bath, Bristol and Wales.
We put the radio on, and as the cruised through the Wiltshire countryside, the clouds above thinned and the sun broke through.
It was going to be a perfect day for orchiding.
We crossed over the new bridge ito Wales, traffic was heavier, but it flowed well, and all around the weather improved.
Past Newport and Cardiff beofre trning off to the coast, lead by the sat nav into which I had programmed the postcode. Although that wasn't enough, as the post coast was a gated farm track.
We tried to drive into the nearest town, and there was no reserve, but on the way out I saw a brown sign with a waterfowl, the symbol for a reserve.
Getting close now.
We arrived, and already the car park was half full, because sadly most people use reserves as dog exercise areas, and we were to be harassed and harried all our visit but aggressive small and larger dog and owners who don't give a toss.
I was here to see a rarer colour variation of the Early Marsh, but Kenfig is also home to the only western colony of Fen Orchids. I had seen these in Norfolk a few years back, but as were here, and someone on Twitter supplied me with a grid reference and good directions, as the orchids are tiny.
So, we went via a maze of tracks, heading mostly west, through coppices and dunes, until there was a large open area of grass.
And orchids.
And there were the magenta coloured EMO.
I filled my boots.
Then, to find the Fens.
Beside one dune that looked just like any other, some work had been done last year to disturb the soil, and here, if we looked hard enough, would be the orchids.
What I saw were hundreds of Marsh Helleborine rosettes putting up spikes, more than I have seen since I was on the Snook.
But then I saw the familiar spike, with two rounded leaves wrapped round the spike.
But not in flower.
We looked more, and found three more spikes, but none in flower.
Then Jools called, and by a short piece of bamboo, there were two flowering spikes, barely 4cm tall.
I got my pictures and we turned for the car, meeting folks on the way who showed us a good spot for dragonflies. We saw damsels, though they were flighty, and then a couple of dragons, but neither settled. Sure one was either a Norfolk of Brown Hawker, but can't be sure.
We reached the car and programmed the hotel in: 117 miles and nearly four hours away.
We drove back to the motorway, past a music festival with people arriving carrying tents and coolers.
We drove on.
Back onto the M4, before turning up through Neath and up and up to Brecon.
At the highest point of the pass, miles of cars parked on the verge, and a line of folks in bright rainware heading further up.
It was packed. So we drove on.
Down the otherside, we came to a greasy spoon, where we stopped and had coffee with "posh" sausage rolls and cakes, whole sitting in deckchairs provided, so we could look on the traffic as we ate.
We drove on, looking for a pub in which to whet our whistle. But there were none. For over an hour we passed through towns and villages, but no pubs were seen, The one we did find, was closed and locked.
We had over an hour to kill, so
We drove on.
Within twenty miles of the hotel we came upon a Red Lion, they were not doing food, but they had beer.
We supped our ales sitting in the beer garden, while around birds sang in joy.
Not a bad spot.
We had an hour to kill, so needed to stop. I saw signs for Welshpool, so thought we would call in. And I knew there was a narrow gauge railway here, maybe it would be working?
Being the second bank holiday of the Jubilee, and just after three, there wasn't much happening in town. Jools went to Boots to get supplies for her cold, and I wandered around taking shots.
We went into a coffee shop for a brew. I made the mistake of having a flavoured latte, but turned down the sugar when offered. Good job, as I had forgotten how sweet coffee with syrup could be, even with an extra shot of espresso in.
But we had killed an hour, so could go to the pub and our home for the next week.
We reached the hotel at four, Bob the landlord was expecting us, and poured me a pint in welcome, as was a fellow armourer in a previous life.
Our toom is up two steep flights of stairs, but we have three rooms, two beds, two TVs and a bathroom. Which will do.
We went down for dinner, I feasted on steak and ale pie. Homemade, while Jools has chicken Kyiv.
We had a cheeseboard, and a wine, before weariness swept over us, and we headed back up them steep stairs to bed.
-------------------------------------------
Fen Orchid is very rare and localised in Britain and afforded full protection under the Wildlife and Countryside Act. Although it grows in two distinct habitat types - in the marshes of East Anglia, and in sand dune slacks in South Wales - these loocations have one major factor in common: they offer calcium-rich ground that is wet or at least damp throughout the year. Despite this apparent flexibility, and the fact that the Fen Orchid is a so-called pioneering plant that can easily colonise newly available ground, the species continues to decline dramatically. For example the population in Wales, which used to exceed 10,000 plants, has now dwindled to such an extent that it is extinct in all but one of its sites, Kenfig National Nature Reserve. Over-stabilisation of the dunes has been the primary cause of the decline in Wales, but there are now various conservation programmes underway to destabilise parts of the dunes in order to expose the bare sand that the Fen Orchid colonises. In East Anglia reed harvesting and scrub removal is enabling new seedlings to become established. Fen Orchid flowers in South Wales from early June to late July, while in Norfolk the orchids flower from early June to early July. In both locations fewer plants produce flowers if the soil conditions are too dry. On mainland Europe Liparis loeselii can be found as far north as Scandinavia and Finland, and its range extends southwards to southern France and northern Spain.
The Fen orchids found in Britain are divided into two subspecies: Liparis loeselii subsp. loeselii grows in Norfolk and has pointed and narrower leaves than those found in South Wales. The plants in Wales, Liparis loeselii subsp. ovata, are shorter, have fewer flowers, and the leaves are egg-shaped and hooded at the tips.
www.hardyorchidsociety.org.uk/HOS%201012/orchidphotos/lip...
We woke at quarter to six in Swindon.
Outside it was warm and cloudy. But with the promise of sunshine later.
We had a shower, dressed and was down fr breakfast for half six, with all bar the cooked food ready.
So, we filled our boots with fruit and coffee before the fry up was brought. Aroud us, young red-eyed familes ate in a daze, and men in work clothes got ready for their last working day of the week.
We had a 90 minute drive, so we turned out of the car park at seven, across the huge roundabout ond onto the M4 heading due west for Bath, Bristol and Wales.
We put the radio on, and as the cruised through the Wiltshire countryside, the clouds above thinned and the sun broke through.
It was going to be a perfect day for orchiding.
We crossed over the new bridge ito Wales, traffic was heavier, but it flowed well, and all around the weather improved.
Past Newport and Cardiff beofre trning off to the coast, lead by the sat nav into which I had programmed the postcode. Although that wasn't enough, as the post coast was a gated farm track.
We tried to drive into the nearest town, and there was no reserve, but on the way out I saw a brown sign with a waterfowl, the symbol for a reserve.
Getting close now.
We arrived, and already the car park was half full, because sadly most people use reserves as dog exercise areas, and we were to be harassed and harried all our visit but aggressive small and larger dog and owners who don't give a toss.
I was here to see a rarer colour variation of the Early Marsh, but Kenfig is also home to the only western colony of Fen Orchids. I had seen these in Norfolk a few years back, but as were here, and someone on Twitter supplied me with a grid reference and good directions, as the orchids are tiny.
So, we went via a maze of tracks, heading mostly west, through coppices and dunes, until there was a large open area of grass.
And orchids.
And there were the magenta coloured EMO.
I filled my boots.
Then, to find the Fens.
Beside one dune that looked just like any other, some work had been done last year to disturb the soil, and here, if we looked hard enough, would be the orchids.
What I saw were hundreds of Marsh Helleborine rosettes putting up spikes, more than I have seen since I was on the Snook.
But then I saw the familiar spike, with two rounded leaves wrapped round the spike.
But not in flower.
We looked more, and found three more spikes, but none in flower.
Then Jools called, and by a short piece of bamboo, there were two flowering spikes, barely 4cm tall.
I got my pictures and we turned for the car, meeting folks on the way who showed us a good spot for dragonflies. We saw damsels, though they were flighty, and then a couple of dragons, but neither settled. Sure one was either a Norfolk of Brown Hawker, but can't be sure.
We reached the car and programmed the hotel in: 117 miles and nearly four hours away.
We drove back to the motorway, past a music festival with people arriving carrying tents and coolers.
We drove on.
Back onto the M4, before turning up through Neath and up and up to Brecon.
At the highest point of the pass, miles of cars parked on the verge, and a line of folks in bright rainware heading further up.
It was packed. So we drove on.
Down the otherside, we came to a greasy spoon, where we stopped and had coffee with "posh" sausage rolls and cakes, whole sitting in deckchairs provided, so we could look on the traffic as we ate.
We drove on, looking for a pub in which to whet our whistle. But there were none. For over an hour we passed through towns and villages, but no pubs were seen, The one we did find, was closed and locked.
We had over an hour to kill, so
We drove on.
Within twenty miles of the hotel we came upon a Red Lion, they were not doing food, but they had beer.
We supped our ales sitting in the beer garden, while around birds sang in joy.
Not a bad spot.
We had an hour to kill, so needed to stop. I saw signs for Welshpool, so thought we would call in. And I knew there was a narrow gauge railway here, maybe it would be working?
Being the second bank holiday of the Jubilee, and just after three, there wasn't much happening in town. Jools went to Boots to get supplies for her cold, and I wandered around taking shots.
We went into a coffee shop for a brew. I made the mistake of having a flavoured latte, but turned down the sugar when offered. Good job, as I had forgotten how sweet coffee with syrup could be, even with an extra shot of espresso in.
But we had killed an hour, so could go to the pub and our home for the next week.
We reached the hotel at four, Bob the landlord was expecting us, and poured me a pint in welcome, as was a fellow armourer in a previous life.
Our toom is up two steep flights of stairs, but we have three rooms, two beds, two TVs and a bathroom. Which will do.
We went down for dinner, I feasted on steak and ale pie. Homemade, while Jools has chicken Kyiv.
We had a cheeseboard, and a wine, before weariness swept over us, and we headed back up them steep stairs to bed.
#readytoparty #serveware #partyware #2tier #3tier #galvanized #wood #bowl #platter #basket #bucket #tray #cakepedestal #cakeplate #casseroledish #cheeseboard #charcuterieboard #punchbowl #divideddish # # # #🎂 #🍴 #
Over the past 4 years I collected lots of miniature items, like dishes and furnitures, (here you can see only some of them) but I can't find the time to organize them in the 'Mini Bakery & Pastry Shop' that I built for my blythe.
But look! I made her some meals - Breakfast, Cheese & Wine, Breads, etc in 1:12 scale.
We woke at quarter to six in Swindon.
Outside it was warm and cloudy. But with the promise of sunshine later.
We had a shower, dressed and was down fr breakfast for half six, with all bar the cooked food ready.
So, we filled our boots with fruit and coffee before the fry up was brought. Aroud us, young red-eyed familes ate in a daze, and men in work clothes got ready for their last working day of the week.
We had a 90 minute drive, so we turned out of the car park at seven, across the huge roundabout ond onto the M4 heading due west for Bath, Bristol and Wales.
We put the radio on, and as the cruised through the Wiltshire countryside, the clouds above thinned and the sun broke through.
It was going to be a perfect day for orchiding.
We crossed over the new bridge ito Wales, traffic was heavier, but it flowed well, and all around the weather improved.
Past Newport and Cardiff beofre trning off to the coast, lead by the sat nav into which I had programmed the postcode. Although that wasn't enough, as the post coast was a gated farm track.
We tried to drive into the nearest town, and there was no reserve, but on the way out I saw a brown sign with a waterfowl, the symbol for a reserve.
Getting close now.
We arrived, and already the car park was half full, because sadly most people use reserves as dog exercise areas, and we were to be harassed and harried all our visit but aggressive small and larger dog and owners who don't give a toss.
I was here to see a rarer colour variation of the Early Marsh, but Kenfig is also home to the only western colony of Fen Orchids. I had seen these in Norfolk a few years back, but as were here, and someone on Twitter supplied me with a grid reference and good directions, as the orchids are tiny.
So, we went via a maze of tracks, heading mostly west, through coppices and dunes, until there was a large open area of grass.
And orchids.
And there were the magenta coloured EMO.
I filled my boots.
Then, to find the Fens.
Beside one dune that looked just like any other, some work had been done last year to disturb the soil, and here, if we looked hard enough, would be the orchids.
What I saw were hundreds of Marsh Helleborine rosettes putting up spikes, more than I have seen since I was on the Snook.
But then I saw the familiar spike, with two rounded leaves wrapped round the spike.
But not in flower.
We looked more, and found three more spikes, but none in flower.
Then Jools called, and by a short piece of bamboo, there were two flowering spikes, barely 4cm tall.
I got my pictures and we turned for the car, meeting folks on the way who showed us a good spot for dragonflies. We saw damsels, though they were flighty, and then a couple of dragons, but neither settled. Sure one was either a Norfolk of Brown Hawker, but can't be sure.
We reached the car and programmed the hotel in: 117 miles and nearly four hours away.
We drove back to the motorway, past a music festival with people arriving carrying tents and coolers.
We drove on.
Back onto the M4, before turning up through Neath and up and up to Brecon.
At the highest point of the pass, miles of cars parked on the verge, and a line of folks in bright rainware heading further up.
It was packed. So we drove on.
Down the otherside, we came to a greasy spoon, where we stopped and had coffee with "posh" sausage rolls and cakes, whole sitting in deckchairs provided, so we could look on the traffic as we ate.
We drove on, looking for a pub in which to whet our whistle. But there were none. For over an hour we passed through towns and villages, but no pubs were seen, The one we did find, was closed and locked.
We had over an hour to kill, so
We drove on.
Within twenty miles of the hotel we came upon a Red Lion, they were not doing food, but they had beer.
We supped our ales sitting in the beer garden, while around birds sang in joy.
Not a bad spot.
We had an hour to kill, so needed to stop. I saw signs for Welshpool, so thought we would call in. And I knew there was a narrow gauge railway here, maybe it would be working?
Being the second bank holiday of the Jubilee, and just after three, there wasn't much happening in town. Jools went to Boots to get supplies for her cold, and I wandered around taking shots.
We went into a coffee shop for a brew. I made the mistake of having a flavoured latte, but turned down the sugar when offered. Good job, as I had forgotten how sweet coffee with syrup could be, even with an extra shot of espresso in.
But we had killed an hour, so could go to the pub and our home for the next week.
We reached the hotel at four, Bob the landlord was expecting us, and poured me a pint in welcome, as was a fellow armourer in a previous life.
Our toom is up two steep flights of stairs, but we have three rooms, two beds, two TVs and a bathroom. Which will do.
We went down for dinner, I feasted on steak and ale pie. Homemade, while Jools has chicken Kyiv.
We had a cheeseboard, and a wine, before weariness swept over us, and we headed back up them steep stairs to bed.
A Chef Eileen masterpiece! This time on a lovely wooden board provided by one of our customers. Starting with the cheese at top and moving past the grapes clock-wise: Montealva (goat), Wavreumont (cow), Bleu des Basques (sheep), Pecorino Gran Sasso (sheep) and Anton's Liebe Rot (cow). The platter is garnished with grapes, raspberries, blackberries, dried figs and apricots.
Well, christmas dinner went as planned and was served bang on time.
starters were, home-made chilli crackers with mushroom pate.
main course was, carrot puree, roast potatoes and parsnips, stuffing, veggie gammon steak on a bed of sliced sprouts poached in cider and a cider sauce.
pudding was, individual christmas pudding with strawberry jelly discs, a warm dark chocolate sauce and pistachio nuts.
there was also a fine cheeseboard and wine. We were at the dinner table for about two hours, a very relaxed christmas lunch.
Berkeley police break up the excellent party at Cheeseboard (free pizza OMG) celebrating Chez Panisse's 40th birthday. I told one of the officers there was free pizza inside if he wanted a snack but he just gave me sort of a sour look and said no thanks.
Gourmet Ghetto, Berkeley, CA. Olympus 9-18mm @ 9mm, f/4, ISO1600 (barf)
Sunday 15 July 2012: Les Bossons (Chamonix-Mont Blanc) - Les Praz - La Flégère - Réserve Naturelle des Aiguilles Rouges (Aiguilles Rouges Nature Reserve) - Col des Montets - Les Frasserands
Day 2 of our Tour du Mont Blanc, on Exodus' Mont Blanc Circuit trip - a clockwise circumambulation of the Mont Blanc massif
We woke to rain, and after a damp breakfast and our first tussle with Kili (we had to pack up our "2 Seconds + III" each morning - it's not easy wrangling a c160cm diameter dome tent back into its 81cm diameter flat pack carrying case) we loaded our main packs into the van, said au revoir to Ben and headed off with Simon to catch the bus from Les Bossons school to the nearby village of Les Praz.
The Téléphérique de la Flégère took us up from the Chamonix-Mont Blanc valley floor up to La Flégère at 1,894 m, where we swopped rain for cloud and a good few °C. Togged up in windproofs and waterproofs, we headed off along the footpath following the signs for Col des Montets - Simon had told us that the poor weather conditions meant that we would not be able do the planned high level route via Lac Blanc with its vertical ladders...
Still, the cloud and raindrops made for lovely flower photos in the Aiguilles Rouges National Nature Reserve, and Waiora and I got some glimpses of glaciers on the far side of the valley ahead and behind, waterfalls and the bright green lichen on the rich red iron rich gneiss rocks that give the Aiguilles Rouges mountains their name - the Red Needles. There's something quite magical about walking through the quietude of cloud.
As the day wore on, the skies cleared and we got better views of mountains above us and across the valley, including the Glacier du Tour. Waiora and I even had our own close encounter with a pair of Ibex, grazing in between the Alpine Rose (Rhododendrons) that cover the mountainsides in this part of the world. Shortly after, having enjoyed an easy day's walking along undulating path (the cable car having done the hard work of the ascent for us) we started the steep, zig zagging descent back down to the road, where we rendezvoused with Simon at the information centre at Col des Montets (1461m).
A short stroll later we were walking through the bucolic alpine village of Les Frasserands, where we found the rest of the group soaking up the sun at the campsite. After a rather late lunch, Hazel and I wandered into the town with Vicki and Rachel and treated ourselves to a jug of Jupiler beer served by a waitress from Wolverhampton at a bar in the village centre. A bit too cool to loiter for long once the sun went in/down.
Dinner was a feast served up in the dining room at Camping Les Frasserands - complete with a magnificent cheeseboard....
DSC04933
Sunday 15 July 2012: Les Bossons (Chamonix-Mont Blanc) - Les Praz - La Flégère - Réserve Naturelle des Aiguilles Rouges (Aiguilles Rouges Nature Reserve) - Col des Montets - Les Frasserands
Day 2 of our Tour du Mont Blanc, on Exodus' Mont Blanc Circuit trip - a clockwise circumambulation of the Mont Blanc massif
We woke to rain, and after a damp breakfast and our first tussle with Kili (we had to pack up our "2 Seconds + III" each morning - it's not easy wrangling a c160cm diameter dome tent back into its 81cm diameter flat pack carrying case) we loaded our main packs into the van, said au revoir to Ben and headed off with Simon to catch the bus from Les Bossons school to the nearby village of Les Praz.
The Téléphérique de la Flégère took us up from the Chamonix-Mont Blanc valley floor up to La Flégère at 1,894 m, where we swopped rain for cloud and a good few °C. Togged up in windproofs and waterproofs, we headed off along the footpath following the signs for Col des Montets - Simon had told us that the poor weather conditions meant that we would not be able do the planned high level route via Lac Blanc with its vertical ladders...
Still, the cloud and raindrops made for lovely flower photos in the Aiguilles Rouges National Nature Reserve, and Waiora and I got some glimpses of glaciers on the far side of the valley ahead and behind, waterfalls and the bright green lichen on the rich red iron rich gneiss rocks that give the Aiguilles Rouges mountains their name - the Red Needles. There's something quite magical about walking through the quietude of cloud.
As the day wore on, the skies cleared and we got better views of mountains above us and across the valley, including the Glacier du Tour. Waiora and I even had our own close encounter with a pair of Ibex, grazing in between the Alpine Rose (Rhododendrons) that cover the mountainsides in this part of the world. Shortly after, having enjoyed an easy day's walking along undulating path (the cable car having done the hard work of the ascent for us) we started the steep, zig zagging descent back down to the road, where we rendezvoused with Simon at the information centre at Col des Montets (1461m).
A short stroll later we were walking through the bucolic alpine village of Les Frasserands, where we found the rest of the group soaking up the sun at the campsite. After a rather late lunch, Hazel and I wandered into the town with Vicki and Rachel and treated ourselves to a jug of Jupiler beer served by a waitress from Wolverhampton at a bar in the village centre. A bit too cool to loiter for long once the sun went in/down.
Dinner was a feast served up in the dining room at Camping Les Frasserands - complete with a magnificent cheeseboard....
DSC04945
Sunday 15 July 2012: Les Bossons (Chamonix-Mont Blanc) - Les Praz - La Flégère - Réserve Naturelle des Aiguilles Rouges (Aiguilles Rouges Nature Reserve) - Col des Montets - Les Frasserands
Day 2 of our Tour du Mont Blanc, on Exodus' Mont Blanc Circuit trip - a clockwise circumambulation of the Mont Blanc massif
We woke to rain, and after a damp breakfast and our first tussle with Kili (we had to pack up our "2 Seconds + III" each morning - it's not easy wrangling a c160cm diameter dome tent back into its 81cm diameter flat pack carrying case) we loaded our main packs into the van, said au revoir to Ben and headed off with Simon to catch the bus from Les Bossons school to the nearby village of Les Praz.
The Téléphérique de la Flégère took us up from the Chamonix-Mont Blanc valley floor up to La Flégère at 1,894 m, where we swopped rain for cloud and a good few °C. Togged up in windproofs and waterproofs, we headed off along the footpath following the signs for Col des Montets- Simon had told us that the poor weather conditions meant that we would not be able do the planned high level route via Lac Blanc with its vertical ladders...
Still, the cloud and raindrops made for lovely flower photos in the Aiguilles Rouges National Nature Reserve, and Waiora and I got some glimpses of glaciers on the far side of the valley ahead and behind, waterfalls and the bright green lichen on the rich red iron rich gneiss rocks that give the Aiguilles Rouges mountains their name - the Red Needles. There's something quite magical about walking through the quietude of cloud.
As the day wore on, the skies cleared and we got better views of mountains above us and across the valley, including the Glacier du Tour. Waiora and I even had our own close encounter with a pair of Ibex, grazing in between the Alpine Rose (Rhododendrons) that cover the mountainsides in this part of the world. Shortly after, having enjoyed an easy day's walking along undulating path (the cable car having done the hard work of the ascent for us) we started the steep, zig zagging descent back down to the road, where we rendezvoused with Simon at the information centre at Col des Montets (1461m).
A short stroll later we were walking through the bucolic alpine village of Les Frasserands, where we found the rest of the group soaking up the sun at the campsite. After a rather late lunch, Hazel and I wandered into the town with Vicki and Rachel and treated ourselves to a jug of Jupiler beer served by a waitress from Wolverhampton at a bar in the village centre. A bit too cool to loiter for long once the sun went in/down.
Dinner was a feast served up in the dining room at Camping Les Frasserands - complete with a magnificent cheeseboard....
DSC04877
Sunday 15 July 2012: Les Bossons (Chamonix-Mont Blanc) - Les Praz - La Flégère - Réserve Naturelle des Aiguilles Rouges (Aiguilles Rouges Nature Reserve) - Col des Montets - Les Frasserands
Day 2 of our Tour du Mont Blanc, on Exodus' Mont Blanc Circuit trip - a clockwise circumambulation of the Mont Blanc massif
We woke to rain, and after a damp breakfast and our first tussle with Kili (we had to pack up our "2 Seconds + III" each morning - it's not easy wrangling a c160cm diameter dome tent back into its 81cm diameter flat pack carrying case) we loaded our main packs into the van, said au revoir to Ben and headed off with Simon to catch the bus from Les Bossons school to the nearby village of Les Praz.
The Téléphérique de la Flégère took us up from the Chamonix-Mont Blanc valley floor up to La Flégère at 1,894 m, where we swopped rain for cloud and a good few °C. Togged up in windproofs and waterproofs, we headed off along the footpath following the signs for Col des Montets - Simon had told us that the poor weather conditions meant that we would not be able do the planned high level route via Lac Blanc with its vertical ladders...
Still, the cloud and raindrops made for lovely flower photos in the Aiguilles Rouges National Nature Reserve, and Waiora and I got some glimpses of glaciers on the far side of the valley ahead and behind, waterfalls and the bright green lichen on the rich red iron rich gneiss rocks that give the Aiguilles Rouges mountains their name - the Red Needles. There's something quite magical about walking through the quietude of cloud.
As the day wore on, the skies cleared and we got better views of mountains above us and across the valley, including the Glacier du Tour. Waiora and I even had our own close encounter with a pair of Ibex, grazing in between the Alpine Rose (Rhododendrons) that cover the mountainsides in this part of the world. Shortly after, having enjoyed an easy day's walking along undulating path (the cable car having done the hard work of the ascent for us) we started the steep, zig zagging descent back down to the road, where we rendezvoused with Simon at the information centre at Col des Montets (1461m).
A short stroll later we were walking through the bucolic alpine village of Les Frasserands, where we found the rest of the group soaking up the sun at the campsite. After a rather late lunch, Hazel and I wandered into the town with Vicki and Rachel and treated ourselves to a jug of Jupiler beer served by a waitress from Wolverhampton at a bar in the village centre. A bit too cool to loiter for long once the sun went in/down.
Dinner was a feast served up in the dining room at Camping Les Frasserands - complete with a magnificent cheeseboard....
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silene_vulgaris
DSC04954
We woke at quarter to six in Swindon.
Outside it was warm and cloudy. But with the promise of sunshine later.
We had a shower, dressed and was down fr breakfast for half six, with all bar the cooked food ready.
So, we filled our boots with fruit and coffee before the fry up was brought. Aroud us, young red-eyed familes ate in a daze, and men in work clothes got ready for their last working day of the week.
We had a 90 minute drive, so we turned out of the car park at seven, across the huge roundabout ond onto the M4 heading due west for Bath, Bristol and Wales.
We put the radio on, and as the cruised through the Wiltshire countryside, the clouds above thinned and the sun broke through.
It was going to be a perfect day for orchiding.
We crossed over the new bridge ito Wales, traffic was heavier, but it flowed well, and all around the weather improved.
Past Newport and Cardiff beofre trning off to the coast, lead by the sat nav into which I had programmed the postcode. Although that wasn't enough, as the post coast was a gated farm track.
We tried to drive into the nearest town, and there was no reserve, but on the way out I saw a brown sign with a waterfowl, the symbol for a reserve.
Getting close now.
We arrived, and already the car park was half full, because sadly most people use reserves as dog exercise areas, and we were to be harassed and harried all our visit but aggressive small and larger dog and owners who don't give a toss.
I was here to see a rarer colour variation of the Early Marsh, but Kenfig is also home to the only western colony of Fen Orchids. I had seen these in Norfolk a few years back, but as were here, and someone on Twitter supplied me with a grid reference and good directions, as the orchids are tiny.
So, we went via a maze of tracks, heading mostly west, through coppices and dunes, until there was a large open area of grass.
And orchids.
And there were the magenta coloured EMO.
I filled my boots.
Then, to find the Fens.
Beside one dune that looked just like any other, some work had been done last year to disturb the soil, and here, if we looked hard enough, would be the orchids.
What I saw were hundreds of Marsh Helleborine rosettes putting up spikes, more than I have seen since I was on the Snook.
But then I saw the familiar spike, with two rounded leaves wrapped round the spike.
But not in flower.
We looked more, and found three more spikes, but none in flower.
Then Jools called, and by a short piece of bamboo, there were two flowering spikes, barely 4cm tall.
I got my pictures and we turned for the car, meeting folks on the way who showed us a good spot for dragonflies. We saw damsels, though they were flighty, and then a couple of dragons, but neither settled. Sure one was either a Norfolk of Brown Hawker, but can't be sure.
We reached the car and programmed the hotel in: 117 miles and nearly four hours away.
We drove back to the motorway, past a music festival with people arriving carrying tents and coolers.
We drove on.
Back onto the M4, before turning up through Neath and up and up to Brecon.
At the highest point of the pass, miles of cars parked on the verge, and a line of folks in bright rainware heading further up.
It was packed. So we drove on.
Down the otherside, we came to a greasy spoon, where we stopped and had coffee with "posh" sausage rolls and cakes, whole sitting in deckchairs provided, so we could look on the traffic as we ate.
We drove on, looking for a pub in which to whet our whistle. But there were none. For over an hour we passed through towns and villages, but no pubs were seen, The one we did find, was closed and locked.
We had over an hour to kill, so
We drove on.
Within twenty miles of the hotel we came upon a Red Lion, they were not doing food, but they had beer.
We supped our ales sitting in the beer garden, while around birds sang in joy.
Not a bad spot.
We had an hour to kill, so needed to stop. I saw signs for Welshpool, so thought we would call in. And I knew there was a narrow gauge railway here, maybe it would be working?
Being the second bank holiday of the Jubilee, and just after three, there wasn't much happening in town. Jools went to Boots to get supplies for her cold, and I wandered around taking shots.
We went into a coffee shop for a brew. I made the mistake of having a flavoured latte, but turned down the sugar when offered. Good job, as I had forgotten how sweet coffee with syrup could be, even with an extra shot of espresso in.
But we had killed an hour, so could go to the pub and our home for the next week.
We reached the hotel at four, Bob the landlord was expecting us, and poured me a pint in welcome, as was a fellow armourer in a previous life.
Our toom is up two steep flights of stairs, but we have three rooms, two beds, two TVs and a bathroom. Which will do.
We went down for dinner, I feasted on steak and ale pie. Homemade, while Jools has chicken Kyiv.
We had a cheeseboard, and a wine, before weariness swept over us, and we headed back up them steep stairs to bed.
Sunday 15 July 2012: Les Bossons (Chamonix-Mont Blanc) - Les Praz - La Flégère - Réserve Naturelle des Aiguilles Rouges (Aiguilles Rouges Nature Reserve) - Col des Montets - Les Frasserands
Day 2 of our Tour du Mont Blanc, on Exodus' Mont Blanc Circuit trip - a clockwise circumambulation of the Mont Blanc massif
We woke to rain, and after a damp breakfast and our first tussle with Kili (we had to pack up our "2 Seconds + III" each morning - it's not easy wrangling a c160cm diameter dome tent back into its 81cm diameter flat pack carrying case) we loaded our main packs into the van, said au revoir to Ben and headed off with Simon to catch the bus from Les Bossons school to the nearby village of Les Praz.
The Téléphérique de la Flégère took us up from the Chamonix-Mont Blanc valley floor up to La Flégère at 1,894 m, where we swopped rain for cloud and a good few °C. Togged up in windproofs and waterproofs, we headed off along the footpath following the signs for Col des Montets- Simon had told us that the poor weather conditions meant that we would not be able do the planned high level route via Lac Blanc with its vertical ladders...
Still, the cloud and raindrops made for lovely flower photos in the Aiguilles Rouges National Nature Reserve, and Waiora and I got some glimpses of glaciers on the far side of the valley ahead and behind, waterfalls and the bright green lichen on the rich red iron rich gneiss rocks that give the Aiguilles Rouges mountains their name - the Red Needles. There's something quite magical about walking through the quietude of cloud.
As the day wore on, the skies cleared and we got better views of mountains above us and across the valley, including the Glacier du Tour. Waiora and I even had our own close encounter with a pair of Ibex, grazing in between the Alpine Rose (Rhododendrons) that cover the mountainsides in this part of the world. Shortly after, having enjoyed an easy day's walking along undulating path (the cable car having done the hard work of the ascent for us) we started the steep, zig zagging descent back down to the road, where we rendezvoused with Simon at the information centre at Col des Montets (1461m).
A short stroll later we were walking through the bucolic alpine village of Les Frasserands, where we found the rest of the group soaking up the sun at the campsite. After a rather late lunch, Hazel and I wandered into the town with Vicki and Rachel and treated ourselves to a jug of Jupiler beer served by a waitress from Wolverhampton at a bar in the village centre. A bit too cool to loiter for long once the sun went in/down.
Dinner was a feast served up in the dining room at Camping Les Frasserands - complete with a magnificent cheeseboard....
DSC04912
Sunday 15 July 2012: Les Bossons (Chamonix-Mont Blanc) - Les Praz - La Flégère - Réserve Naturelle des Aiguilles Rouges (Aiguilles Rouges Nature Reserve) - Col des Montets - Les Frasserands
Day 2 of our Tour du Mont Blanc, on Exodus' Mont Blanc Circuit trip - a clockwise circumambulation of the Mont Blanc massif
We woke to rain, and after a damp breakfast and our first tussle with Kili (we had to pack up our "2 Seconds + III" each morning - it's not easy wrangling a c160cm diameter dome tent back into its 81cm diameter flat pack carrying case) we loaded our main packs into the van, said au revoir to Ben and headed off with Simon to catch the bus from Les Bossons school to the nearby village of Les Praz.
The Téléphérique de la Flégère took us up from the Chamonix-Mont Blanc valley floor up to La Flégère at 1,894 m, where we swopped rain for cloud and a good few °C. Togged up in windproofs and waterproofs, we headed off along the footpath following the signs for Col des Montets - Simon had told us that the poor weather conditions meant that we would not be able do the planned high level route via Lac Blanc with its vertical ladders...
Still, the cloud and raindrops made for lovely flower photos in the Aiguilles Rouges National Nature Reserve, and Waiora and I got some glimpses of glaciers on the far side of the valley ahead and behind, waterfalls and the bright green lichen on the rich red iron rich gneiss rocks that give the Aiguilles Rouges mountains their name - the Red Needles. There's something quite magical about walking through the quietude of cloud.
As the day wore on, the skies cleared and we got better views of mountains above us and across the valley, including the Glacier du Tour. Waiora and I even had our own close encounter with a pair of Ibex, grazing in between the Alpine Rose (Rhododendrons) that cover the mountainsides in this part of the world. Shortly after, having enjoyed an easy day's walking along undulating path (the cable car having done the hard work of the ascent for us) we started the steep, zig zagging descent back down to the road, where we rendezvoused with Simon at the information centre at Col des Montets (1461m).
A short stroll later we were walking through the bucolic alpine village of Les Frasserands, where we found the rest of the group soaking up the sun at the campsite. After a rather late lunch, Hazel and I wandered into the town with Vicki and Rachel and treated ourselves to a jug of Jupiler beer served by a waitress from Wolverhampton at a bar in the village centre. A bit too cool to loiter for long once the sun went in/down.
Dinner was a feast served up in the dining room at Camping Les Frasserands - complete with a magnificent cheeseboard....
DSC04927